This site is dedicated to the preservation of memory of silent films. Although they were quite important in the evolution of cinema, they remain virtually forgotten nowadays. Since the best way to understand the present is taking an attentive look at the past, here you have some movies, pictures, interviews, etc. on silent cinema. Some occasional material on sound films will also be presented. I hope you enjoy getting to know a bit more about the beauty and sheer fun of these golden oldies.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Panorama of Wreckage of Water Front - 1900

Country: USA

Release Date:
September 1900 (USA)

Filming
Locations: Galveston, Texas, USA

Production Co:
Edison Manufacturing Company

Genres: Short

On September
8th, 1900, the city of Galveston was hit by a hurricane and tidal wave, which
would end up costing more than 2500 lives. With winds of up to 135mph, many
considered this one of the deadliest storms of its time and the Edison studio
sent cameras down there to capture some of the aftermath.

More striking footage from Edison in their
Galveston disaster coverage. This film runs just under a minute and takes us to
the waterfront where the tidal wave clearly had a major impact on what we're
seeing. Just take a look at several of the boats that are wrapped around the
docks and the overall damage is just hard to imagine. There are a few seconds
of people standing around viewing the damage and there are even a couple boats
in the background where no damage has been done so I'm guessing these were
coming in to offer support. If you've seen all the Edison films that covered
this disaster you know that the damage done was simply amazing. Being able to
see this footage today makes you somewhat thankful that Edison sent a crew to
film it as it's certainly an important part of history.

Profile

Brazilian, greatly fond of classic movies, specially silent ones. It is a pleasure to understand better how life was like in the past with the help of those films. Moreover, they are quite fun to watch, once you sit down and are willing to see things from another perspective. In case you want to exchange ideas, e-mail me at silentbeauties10@gmail.com and you will be answered as soon as possible.